What Exactly is Autism?

Autism is a neural development condition that affects millions of people. In the past few years the number of autism cases has rapidly increased from one in every 10,000 births to one in every 110 births. The cause for this is unknown.

Autism is an idiopathic disorder which mean it had no cause. However there are some common factors that could lead to autism. One of the factors is certain genes. There are some genes that affect the brain development. This could cause autism to be present. There are also genes that make you more susceptible to the disorder and others that decide how severe the disorder will be. However, contrary to popular belief, autism is not hereditary.

There are some other possible factors that have not been proven to cause autism, but could be. Environmental conditions is one that many believe to be true. If the child is exposed to certain viruses or pollutants it is possible that autism could develop. There are other possible causes that are very controversial. These include vaccines, bad parenting and poor nutrition.

There are many signs and symptoms that can help you diagnose autism. One of the most common symptoms is lack of social interaction. If the child enjoys being alone, does not interact with others well, becomes angry or aggressive in social situation and does not like affection, chance are they could have the disorder. Lack of communication skills is another autism symptoms. If by the age of twelve months the child doesn’t babble or baby talk, autism could be present. Also, when a child uses words out of context, forgets words that they used to know or doesn’t understand the meaning of simple words, it could be a sign. Another common autism sign is repetition and routines. The child may continuously flap hand or rock, or the child might have a bedtime ritual that has to be the same way each time. Also, an autistic child will commonly have a daily routine and become upset when it is disrupted.